Issue No. 21 22nd July 2015

JOHNSTONST,WAGGAWAGGA PHONE:69215733FAX:69214312 EMAIL:sjw-info@ww.catholic.edu.au WEBSITE:web.sjww.catholic.edu.au

Reflection Dear Parents, Families and Friends,

On Friday of last week we celebrated NAIDOC week with a liturgy and assembly. Thank you very much to Kelly Humphrey for the time spent talking with the children about NAIDOC week and Aboriginal culture, and showing us some Aboriginal artifacts. Thank you also to Mary Atkinson for the wonderful community work you do with Aboriginal families in the diocese and our school. The children finished the afternoon with some traditional games in their You Can Do It groups.

Kinder interviews are continuing this week, with another cohort of delightful children, eager and ready to begin school in 2016. Letters of offer for places are due to be sent out in August.

This week, on Friday morning 24th July, we have planned a school Mass at 9.15am and morning tea at 10.30am to celebrate grandparents. Following Mass, there will be some time for parent/grandparents to visit classrooms and then gather together for a cuppa. We ask that parents please supply a plate of food to share. It is a special time to celebrate and value the importance of grandparents in your children’s lives. The children love these occasions. We will also remember the many grandparents who are not able to be here or who are no longer with us. All welcome.

Yours in Christ

Kathy Gaskin Principal

Prayer for Grandparents

Lord Jesus, you were born of the Virgin Mary, the daughter of Saints Joachim and Anne.

Look with love on grandparents the world over. Protect them! They are a source of enrichment

for families, for the Church and for all of society. Support them! As they grow older,

may they continue to be for their families strong pillars of Gospel faith,

guardians of noble domestic ideals, living treasuries of sound religious traditions. Make them teachers of wisdom and courage,

that they may pass on to future generations the fruits of their mature human and spiritual experience.

Lord Jesus, help families and society

to value the presence and role of grandparents. May they never be ignored or excluded, but always encounter respect and love.

Help them to live serenely and to feel welcomed in all the years of life which you give them.

Mary, Mother of all living, keep grandparents constantly in your care,

accompany them on their earthly pilgrimage, and by your prayer, grant that all families

may one day be reunited in our heavenly homeland, where you await all humanity

for the great embrace of life without end. Amen.

Pope Benedict XVI

Important Dates for Term 3 2015 Friday 24th July Mass for Grandparents 9.15am Cathedral followed by classroom visits and morning tea Thursday 30th July Year 6 Reconciliation 9.15am Friday 31st July Year 4 Assembly presentation 1.50pm Thursday 6th Aug ust Year 5 School Mass for The Transfiguration of the Lord 9.15am Friday 7th August St. Mary of the Cross Mackillop Liturgy at assembly 1.50pm Tuesday 11th August School Council Meeting 6pm Thurs 13th August Year 5 Reconciliation 9.15am Friday 14th August Making Jesus Real session for K—Year 6 Thurs 20th August Year 4 School Mass 9.15am Cathedral 24th—28th August Year 2, 3 & 5 swimming lessons Friday 25th August Year 3 Assembly presentation 1.50pm Thurs 3rd September 7.30am Father’s Day Breakfast Thurs 3rd September Year 2 School Mass for Father’s Day 9.15am Friday 4th September Kinder assembly presentation 1.50pm Thurs 10th September Year 3 Reconciliation 9.15am Thurs 17th September Year 4 Reconciliation 9.15am Friday 18th September Last day of term

Merit Awards Week 10 Term 2 KS: Priya Bookall Ashleigh Crossett KR: George Chigwidden Hayden Donohue Year 1: Bailey Bramich William Mutton Year 2: Rose Buchanan Nick Liu Year 3: Dominic Cabot Flynn Rumble Year 4: Jack Buist Harry Pollard Year 5: Georgia Barclay John Kennedy Year 6: Isobella Lynch-Ridley Cameron McDougall

Tuckshop Roster Term 3 Week 3

Monday 27th July Katie Dennis and Donna Spackman

Weds 29th July Danielle O’Connor and Kylie Knox

Thurs 30th July Lyndelle Kelly and Alisia Lopez

Friday 31st July Linda Burge and Volunteer needed

2015 PUPIL FREE DAYS Tuesday 6th October

Monday 30th November

With this cold and wet weather, please ensure your child/children are dressed appropriately in full winter uniform. If your child is sick, the best place for them is at home so that germs are not spread to the rest of the school. Please encourage your child to cover their mouth with their elbow when they cough and to wash their hands thoroughly after blowing their nose to help stop the spread of germs.

Year 3 First Communion Mass This year the First Communion Mass for Year 3 will be held on Sunday 13th September at 10am in the Cathedral. Further information will be sent home over the next few weeks. Please put this important date in your diary.

From the Assistant Principal—Paul Spain The results of the recent ICT survey for students were most interesting in terms of what students can currently achieve and what they would like to accomplish in the future with computers. Students from Years 4 to 6 were surveyed and some of the results were as follows: 83% can log onto their account at home. 95% can send an email from their school address 90% can open a Google Doc and share it with others. 87% can code to some level. 65% can build websites. 92% can save to their Google Drive. These results are exciting as it shows that there is great potential for what students can achieve in the future. Student’s knowledge of computers and their capabilities grow every day. In the survey students were asked what they would like to achieve with computers. Some of the answers included: Code Learn to code in different languages such as Python and JavaScript Communicate Build websites Develop graphics Use Reading Eggs and Mathletics more often. Use technology more for projects. More interactive activities. Do assessments online. Recently 11 students from Years 3 to 6 completed the ICAS Digital Technologies test. The results reflected the ability our students possess with 1 High Distinction, 5 Credits and 1 Merit. We look forward to continued exciting advancements in the area of ICT with our students.

Volunteers Needed We are in desperate need of more volunteers to help in the tuckshop. Even if you can only help for a shorter amount of time such as 11.30am to 1.30pm, it would be much appreciated. If we don’t have volunteers on any particular day, we are unable to open the tuckshop on that day. Training is offered to any new parents!!Please contact Kathy Gaffney on 0422 493 879 if you can help. Kathy Gaffney—Tuckshop Co-ordinator

Friday Assembly Roster 1.50pm in the COLA

Term3 Friday 31st July: Year 4

Friday 25th August: Year 3 Friday 4th September: Kinder

Term4 Friday 16th October: Year 2 Friday 30th October: Year 6

Friday 13th November: Year 5 Friday 27th November: Year 1

Children’s Safety at Afternoon Pick-Up Children are to remain waiting on the seats in the care of the teachers on duty while they are waiting to be picked up in the afternoon. Parents, please note that children DO NOT have permission to leave the property and meet parents around the other side of the Cathedral at any time. The teacher on duty must be informed by the child if they have permission to walk to their home or parent’s work. Your child’s safety is paramount. Please support us in this. Kathy Gaskin—Principal

Grandparents Mass We invite all our grandparents and parents to join St Joseph’s staff and students when we celebrate grandparents at a special Mass this Friday. This will be followed by a visit to classrooms and morning tea. Date: Friday 24th July Place: 9.15am @ St Michael’s Cathedral Classroom visit: 10-10.30 am Morning Tea: 10.30am please bring a plate to share Year 6 will be assisting Fr Rick with the celebrations.

The students of St Joseph’s celebrated NAIDOC week on Friday 17th July with activities in their You Can Do It groups. The students who worked in Mrs Sandral's room made some fabulous Rainbow Serpents!

Mass Times at St Michael’s Cathedral

Monday—Friday 7am & 12.45pm Saturday 12.15pm & 6pm

Sunday 8am, 10am & 5.30pm

Mini Vinnies Report

Congratulations to our Mini Vinnies Conference. The children have worked very hard to promoting their first Winter Appeal for St. Vincent de Paul and have collected over $400 worth of warm clothing for disadvantaged families. The clothing was presented to Mrs. Nola McCrae, a member of St. Vincent de Paul, at the end of Term 2. Nola was deeply grateful and praised the children for their efforts. The clothing will be distributed to families in need, over what has been one of the coldest Wagga winters in a long time. A big thank you to all those families who supported the Winter Appeal. Your kindness and generosity will not go unrewarded.

Libby Ridley—Pastoral Care

The DPF would like to welcome students and families back to the school for Term 3 2015.

Would you like to win a prize this term? All you need to do is be the for the term. The student

who deposits the most times for the term is the winner. So now’s the time to start.

Encouraging your children to save is one of life’s most important lessons. Get-ting them started and continuing on throughout their school life could mean the difference between being able to afford to send them off to university or being able to afford a decent car or travel when your child completes his or her studies. Saving money teaches our children how to manage their finances, teach-es them how to budget for things they would like, such as a new skate board, bi-cycle or later on their first mobile phone or iPad. They can save their pocket money and birthday money or any other funds they may collect.

Savings can be deposited EVERY Thursday through the school office If your child does not already have a DPF Student Saver account please call 02 69370099 and we will send out a Student Saver package to you.

Help make a difference for our school! Simply shop at Woolworths and you will receive one Woolworths Earn & Learn Sticker for every $10 spent.* Stick the Woolworths Stickers onto the Woolworths Earn & Learn Sticker Sheet downloaded from woolworths.com.au/earnandlearn. Once it’s complete, pop it into the Collection Box in the school foyer or at the Gurwood Street store. It’s easy to earn valuable resources to help our school, so start collecting your Woolworths Earn & Learn Stickers today. Go to woolworths.com.au/earnandlearn for more information, terms and conditions and answers to frequently asked questions. *excluding tobacco, liquor and gift cards